Natural Born Hustler
by HG Rising
Summary: AU. Keith is out of commission, and Veronica is forced to go solo. Unfortunately, her first mission drops her into the very heart of Neptune during the aftermath of the mysterious death of her supposed half sister. She may think herself a professional, but some Neptune residents have more experience getting their hands dirty.
1. Chapter 1

**Natural Born Hustler**

A/N: I've mentioned it in the author's notes of a few of my other chapters/stories, and I didn't think I should start writing it because of my limited time, but I seriously could not let this idea go. Also, 0ldLace was kind enough to encourage me to do so (shout out ^^). Anyway, a bit about the story: it was originally titled _Chinatown_ because oh, Lord… reasons. Briefly, it's an AU in which Veronica is a professional thief and con artist but some residents of Neptune have more experience getting their hands dirty.

Chapter 1

.

Veronica picked herself up off the quickly heating floor with a pained groan. She pushed her hair out of her face and felt the stickiness matting it. She hoped it was just sweat.

Suddenly, she realized he hadn't said anything yet, hadn't told her what to do. She got out from under him and shook him. He wasn't moving, barely breathing, and that was bad.

Bad, bad, bad. This was so very bad.

She had checked, double checked, and triple checked her calculations just like he taught her. But, she still fucked up.

She crawled alongside the wall slowly with the weight of him, inching towards their getaway point. The clarion call of the fire alarm as well as sirens filled her head while the smoky air filled her lungs with poison.

Finally finding the right door, she fell to her knees when it opened, dropping him as she went.

"Sorry, Dad. We're almost there," she whispered more for herself than her unconscious father.

The air was markedly cleaner but not unaffected. She crossed the room quickly, throwing the window open. She was three floors up, but she was confident in her training. Though, with a passed out passenger as dead weight, she was less confident.

Stumbling back to him, she put his arms over her and grabbed his middle, pulling him towards their exit.

Fluidly, she slipped out the window and tried to scale her way down the wall, but she lost her balance almost immediately. Their size disparity was too much for her, and she was too tired. They fell down the remaining twenty or so feet with a wet squelch onto the dewy grass.

There was new pain blooming from her right side, and she felt along her ribs, trying to stop her dry heaving. They were almost there. She could see their hidden car in the distance and ran for it.

She sprinted as fast as she could, thinking back to the days when she sprinted for the thrill of scoring goals and not for their lives.

She slammed on the gas pedal as soon as it started, swerving to avoid one too many decorative trees on a no longer immaculate landscape. She didn't wait for the car to stop and threw herself out, gathering her father in her arms and carrying him as gently and as hastily as she could into the back seat.

Everything burned, but she felt nothing because everything she was supposed to feel or think had fallen in the face of the one thing she now had to do.

Save her father.

.

She called Cliff, not knowing who else to go to.

When she was a child, she'd known Cliff to be a lawyer with questionable views but loved him almost as much as she did her father. Her birth giver left them when she was young, and Cliff stepped in to help her clueless father raise her.

At thirteen, she got caught shoplifting, not by the cops, but by her father. She impishly told him she had done it just to see if she could—she explained to him that she often did because she was restless—, and he decided that it was finally time to introduce her to what was apparently the family trade.

Most importantly, he sat her down with Cliff and explained what they used to do. Who they used to be.

From there, she learned that Cliff was not her father's secret lover, much to Cliff's intense amusement, but he was his former partner in the sense that they used to hustle together. But, they had both decided to give it up soon after her birth giver found herself pregnant, figuring the risk was much too high at that point. Cliff eventually became a lawyer, and her father became a home security consultant.

Hearing the click that signified he had picked up the phone, she couldn't keep the tremble out of her voice. Quietly, she asked, "Cliff?"

"Something's happened."

"It's Dad," she said, breaking down. "He won't wake up. I don't know what to do."

She heard Cliff swear loudly and clenched the steering wheel until her fingers turned white.

"Are you driving?"

"Yeah," she whispered hoarsely, willing herself not to cry. She needed to keep calm if she wanted to help her father.

"Pull over when it's safe."

"Okay." The car screeched to a halt, and her muscles tensed. "Now what?"

"Where are you?"

"Neptune. It's close to San Diego. I'm on the PCH past Twin Dolphin Road."

"Of course you are." He swore again under his breath.

"What?"

"Is he bleeding?"

She climbed into the back, running her hand over him carefully and quickly while still clutching her phone like a lifeline in her other. "The back of his head," she reported, biting her lip.

"Grab something to stop it. I'm over three hours away, so I'm going to have someone meet you there. He goes by Vinnie and knows who you are, so if anyone has to ask for your name, leave your father and run away immediately—"

"I can't do that!" She said reflexively She was shocked he even suggested it.

"Veronica, you need to understand you're not safe where you are. That town... It's just not safe."

Hysterically, she asked, "Why? What's going on?"

"Keith told me that if something like this happened," he continued, ignoring her questions. "I'm supposed to make sure that _you_ are safe. No matter what. And, I know it goes against our family motto, but you _can _trust Vinnie. He used to be one of our men from back in the day. He'll take care of Keith and then take both of you to a private hospital. I'll meet you there. Do _not_ leave his sight."

"Fine," she said frantically, blindly obeying. She pulled off her shirt and lifted him up to rest against her. She pressed her shirt against his head, kissing his cheek and praying that things would be okay again.

"You need to lose that car, so just switch to his. I'll have someone else take care of the car later."

"Okay. Thanks, Cliff," she sobbed.

"Okay. He'll be there in ten. Are you going to be okay, sweetie?"

"Mhmm," she hummed. "Can you stay on the phone?"

"Never considered anything else, V."

Through wet tears, she prayed. As promised, Cliff never hung up on her, and she had the rare opportunity of hearing Cliff in serious mode. He was commanding and took charge, and Veronica remembered that he and her father only acted goofily for her benefit. This was a man who was in control and had power, and everyone knew it.

She gasped when the door opened, and someone leaned in.

"Baby V," the figure said. "Haven't seen you since you were a peanut. Sorry it had to be like this. Can you bring your dad to my car? You both can stay in the backseat, and I'll take us to the hospital. Where are your keys? Leave them in the car."

With clammy hands, she tossed them into the backseat as clambered out, not letting go of her father. Vinnie tried to help her, but she pulled them both away. Cliff told her to trust him, and she would, but only so much as she needed to.

As Vinnie drove, she manically hummed the lullaby songs of her childhood—the ones her father sang to her—through tight lips and throaty whines, rocking him in her arms.

.

Despite being in a private room, they spoke in hushed whispers by his side.

Veronica tightly gripped her father's hand as he lay motionless on the hospital bed. She was wearing Vinnie's too large shirt, who had also taken the liberty of concocting a cover story for the both of them. She was to tell everyone that they had flipped their car off the side of the road and that she remembered nothing more.

In their line of profession, it was better not to have too many people ask questions they shouldn't know the answers to, which is why Vinnie told her to keep their real names to themselves as well, telling her to cry whenever someone asked a question until Cliff could come with fake identification and insurance papers.

When Cliff did come to find her already standing in a vigil by Keith's bed, he immediately demanded she get herself checked out, knowing she was too stubborn to take care of herself otherwise. She came back almost immediately with bandages wrapped around her torso, injuries cleaned and bandaged, and with the resolve to make that the only time she left her father alone.

They said there was trauma to the back of her head, as if she didn't already know. There were second degree burns across his shoulders. A broken rib to match her bruised one. Shrapnel was found embedded into his back and limbs as well. He'd be in a coma until further notice. They asked her again how she and her father had gotten themselves into that condition, but she volunteered no truths.

Two weeks later, when Veronica tried to use Keith's account to pay off some of the immediate hospital bills, she found that his savings had been completely drained. And, her private account barely had enough in it to pay for his first physical evaluation. There was no way she could afford everything else he needed, especially not the private room.

She heard Cliff enter, knowing that it was his way of being polite. Though he hadn't reentered the profession like Keith did after finding his calling as a legal charlatan, Cliff was still skilled and could have entered undetected should he choose to do so. Veronica knew it was for her benefit and wiped her tears.

Finding her voice, she asked, "Did you find out where the money went?"

.

Cliff barely concealed his anger.

"No," he lied, coming to her side and bringing her into a hug before checking on Keith, who was still unconscious. "I'm sorry, V. It's gone, but I'll take care of the everything. And until your father gets better, you can come live with me. You won't have to worry about a thing."

"No, Cliff. I can't," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"You have to."

"But—"

"I hate to break it to you, kid, but there's really no other way," he said admonishingly.

She bit her lip and replied, "I can do the rest of the jobs we had lined up."

"No. You're not old enough."

"You two started when you were fifteen!"

"Because we had to! We were desperate and didn't have anyone to help us. You have me. Just let me help."

"I can't," she repeated.

"Well, I can't either."

"You can't stop me."

"I can and will. You're vastly underestimating the amount of time I am willing to devote to keeping you safe, Veronica."

"Then you can pick the job! Just let me do this myself."

"Any job that's fit for a normal seventeen year old won't be enough. Veronica—"

Adamantly, she refused, "No, _Cliff_. He's my father… I've relied on you too much. You said you never wanted to get involved in the business again, and I've made you do that so many times already. If you get investigated, if they find out what we were up to, what we've _been _up to, and find out you've helped us, you'd get in trouble, too. You'd lose your license, go to jail, I don't even know what else."

"If they get me, then they get me. I deserve it, but I'm going to do what I can until then."

"… Or, I have this idea, Cliff. Just hear me out," she begged, getting finally from the chair that had been her bed and everything else since Keith was admitted. Facing him, she admitted, "I found Lianne's old diaries a few years ago. I was in the attic and found a bunch of her stuff. I was going to burn everything, but I wanted to know more about the woman who left Dad."

Cliff's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he might have expected it from Keith. He was cunning and intelligent in so many ways, but he was a fool as well when it came to that woman.

Not wanting to give anything away, Cliff asked, "What did you find?"

He watched as she swallowed thickly, as if she were going to deliver bad news. It was bad news, to be sure, but Cliff heard it years ago.

"Around the time Lianne was pregnant with me, she was having an affair with a man named Jake Kane. I looked him up, Cliff. If it's the Jake Kane I think he is, then he's rich. Filthy rich. We can extort money from him, and I won't even be in any danger!"

"You think someone as rich as you say he is won't want to keep his skeletons deep in the back of the closet? That he won't do whatever it takes to keep them there?"

She faltered at his questions.

"No," he said firmly.

Her jaw dropped. "You don't know he'd do it. There's a huge payout, Cliff. He's like a billionaire!"

With his hand over his mouth, Cliff warned her, "He'd ask for a blood test to prove it."

"You got me and my dad fake IDs in less than the time it takes to make a sandwich. Can't you just forge the results, too? I've seen Dad do it, once, to stop them from hitting their kids. I can do this, Cliff."

"Veronica, think about what you're asking me to do. Your father wanted me to keep you _out _of trouble."

"You said you'd help me."

"It'd be easier to just give you my money!"

"But, this is like free money. It'll be cake. Easier than cake. Cupcake," she insisted.

"It's going to be messy."

"I'll be careful. It'll take two seconds, right? I send him a letter, maybe talk to him once or twice. We do a blood test, you fix it, and I can pay for Dad's bills."

He wanted Veronica to stay away from Jake Kane as much as possible, but he had to admit that he didn't know how long Keith was going to stay in a coma. He had saved up a fairly sizable sum, but there was a reason he was still working, and it wasn't just because he loved it. It sounded simple enough. He knew that Jake knew.

It would be simple, he thought, wishing he'd believe it more.

He ignored the gnawing sense of dread in his stomach. Keith would kill him, but not before he killed Keith first. He didn't know what he was thinking going back to Neptune. And, look where they were now. That town was trouble, and they were lucky to escape it. He had no idea why Keith would want to go back. He had little reason to be there. He should've had no reason to be there.

Not only that, he had brought Veronica along, too.

"Two seconds, Veronica."

"Yes!" She cheered, reaching over to hug him again.

He'd regret this immediately, he knew.

Things were never simple in Neptune.

.

When visiting hours were over and he made sure she ate dinner, Cliff made his way to his car quickly. Slamming the door shut, Cliff dialed Vinnie.

Without preamble, he asked, "Did you find her?"

"Hello to you, too, Mr. Grouchy pants."

"Grow up, Vinnie."

"I will when you admit you miss the hustle."

"I do a different kind of hustling now."

"I heard."

"The info, Vinnie," he prompted.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. You want me to fax it over to the usual place?"

"No. No trail. Just tell me here."

"Alright. It was pretty hard to find her, you know. New name. Almost new face. But, I got her. Same greedy bitch and general bitch attitude," he said. "Normally, I'd charge you extra because of all the heavy lifting I had to do, but let's say it's for old time's sake."

"The address?"

"Sheesh. I guess you're only a cuddly teddy bear with the kid. It's 310 Gelsen Drive, Manhattan. Can't miss it. It's the tall building next to the other tall buildings. She lives on the seventh floor, apartment 201."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Just one question."

Impatiently, he asked, "What?"

"She's already got shit tons of money from her last divorce. Why would she bother with Keith's money now?"

"I don't know, Vinnie. She's a bitch? Right now, it doesn't matter to me. Does it matter to you?"

"No, guess not," he said, shrugging even though Cliff couldn't see him. "But, everyone's got a reason for doing things, and I Just can't resist the sordid details, you know?"

"No, and that's why I left."

Vinnie chucked into his phone. "Cliffie, you don't ever really leave. Not this place. It's inside you. It's inside the kid, too. Now there's a girl who's got the right nature and nurture all wrapped up in a cute bow. It's perfect."

"I _highly_ doubt it, but we'll have to see," he sighed.

"What? Wait—"

"Talk later, Vinnie. Thanks again."

"Hey, wait, no—"

Cliff hung up, heading back to his office, but he couldn't focus on any of his cases, so he spent the rest of the night drinking and reminiscing about their time in Neptune, needing more and more liquor to systematically forget each one.

.

Despite Cliff's protests, Veronica personally delivered the blackmail letter to Jake Kane's desk. It was easy to not listen to Cliff when he was slurring his words.

That same day, she received a call to her disposable cell phone from the man himself.

Sweetly, she answered with a sniff, "Hello?"

"Veronica!" He had exclaimed.

The tender emotion in his voice surprised her; she had been expecting anger and threats. Composing herself again, she asked, "Mr. Kane?"

"Yes, Veronica, honey," he said. "Where are you? Who are you staying with? Are you safe?"

His concern kept flooring her, and she had a hard time sticking to her resolve. He seemed like he'd be a genuinely nice father, but she had her real father to think of who was laying in a hospital room that she had to find a way to pay for.

"I'm fine. I'm staying by myself… until they kick me out," she replied, giving another exaggerated sniff.

In her letter, she had written that the man she had known to be her father had recently died, and in his will, he had revealed that she wasn't his biological daughter. He also told her how to find a man named Jake Kane, who was supposed to be her real father, and to ask him for help if anything happened to him, and she couldn't take care of herself.

"No! No, you tell them that it'll be handled. I'll pay for everything, Veronica… darling. Just, tell me where you are."

"Thank you, Mr. Kane!" He was throwing her off with his agreeable attitude. But, that could've been his plan, and she kept her guard up. Feigning innocence, she told him, "My dad's lawyer said you might want a blood test as proof? We can do that if you don't believe me. I have my mother's—" She closed her eyes in pain and breathed deeply. "—diary, too. Dad left it for me in case you didn't believe me. I don't want you to think I'm lying to you, Mr. Kane."

"Please, Veronica… Can you call me Dad?" He almost sounded as pained as she was. "We can sort everything out later. I need to make sure you're safe first."

Veronica's throat burned from the bile that threatened to come up. "I don't think—I'm not sure I can do that…," she eventually stammered.

"Will you try, though?"

"I… I can't."

She was ready to hang up and just forget that she had even attempted to con someone without her father's help. She apparently didn't have it in her to completely separate her emotions from the job. He was asking for something she couldn't give. She only had one father, one wonderful father… who never asked for anything from her. And yet, she couldn't do this for him. She clenched her teeth, tasting salt.

Jake sighed through the phone, and her finger hovered over the end call button.

"I'm sorry. Was it too soon?"

She dropped her phone, not quite believing that she heard him correctly. "Yes," she breathed out in relief, reaching for her phone and trying not to sound so eager. "Too soon… But, maybe…," she offered, knowing it wasn't really possible.

"Maybe," he agreed hopefully. "Now, can you tell me where you are? I'd like to meet you immediately."

That wasn't part of her plan. Not really. She wasn't fully sure the plan would even work. Panicking, Veronica told him haltingly, "I appreciate the help, Mr. Kane. But, I think it's better if we never meet, don't you? I'm sure you have a family. They'd hate me if they found out. And, I won't ask for your help after this, either. I promise."

"I can give you more money," he stated without hesitation. "I can set up a trust fund for you. You won't have to worry about paying for college or supporting yourself if you don't want to."

Veronica breathed in sharply. She wanted to just ask exactly how much he was offering her, but there was always the possibility it was a trap. "I don't want any more than I need, Mr. Kane. Enough to pay for my father's hospital bills, his funeral, and enough to last me until I turn eighteen. That's it."

"Eighteen," he repeated, and it made her pause.

"Yes," she rifled through the papers in front of her. According to the identity Cliff made up, her birthday was sometime at the beginning of December. "It's next December. I'll be fine until then if you helped me just this once."

"I can't let you live alone, Veronica."

"I won't be. My father's friends are helping as much as they can. I just couldn't ask them to help with everything else. They'd try to afford it if I asked even if they couldn't, you see."

Suddenly, his tone changed, and he said, "You know who I am, Veronica."

She felt chills. "Yes," she answered warily.

"You know I'm a powerful man, then?"

"Yes," she agreed, not liking what he might lead to.

"You know you're my daughter."

Again, she said, "Yes."

"And I know you're my daughter."

"Yes? I don't—"

"But, if I have to, I will contest my paternity and drag this out in the courts. You won't see any money for a very long time."

Shocked, Veronica exclaimed, "But your family! The scandal. You—"

"I don't care about a lot of things, Veronica."

She chewed on her bottom lip. Cliff wouldn't like this. She didn't like this. But, without his cooperation, the bills wouldn't be paid, and she didn't even want to consider what would happen after Cliff's money ran out. Resigned, she asked, "What do you want then?"

"Live with me until you graduate high school. That's it. You'll be taken care of, and I'll set up a trust fund for you, too."

"Why?" She whispered hoarsely.

"You're my daughter. Why else?"

His words did little to comfort her, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that she should be very careful with his man.

"Just until I graduate?"

Just until she graduated, and she and her father could be set.

"Until you graduate," he agreed. "Now, where are you? I can have someone pick you up. Or I can get you myself."

.

Cliff's phone rang in front of him. He was at his office but little work had been done.

"Cliff, change of plans," Veronica said.

"Of course!" He answered raising his glass as if in celebration. He tipped his head back and emptied the contents into his mouth. "Of course."

.

Standing up from desk, Jake walked over to his book case. There, he stood, selecting a hard copy of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" from it. Tucked into the cover sleeve was a photo, which he carefully pulled out. Looking at it, he was confronted with all of his regrets.

He traced the face of the woman in the picture once before replacing everything.

He had let her go. He had been foolish at the time to think she would only be his. And, despite his best efforts to find her again, she was lost to him completely.

But, as if by fate, a piece of her had found him. And, he was sure it was a piece of her. They had the same sweet voice and inflection. Sweet handwriting.

He wondered if that saying about letting something you loved go applied to his situation.

.

A/N: Thoughts? Have I completely lost it? The answer's yes, but can you tell? If so, then please tell me. I envision a lot of plot holes in this, so if you spot one, please report it. Please be patient with me on this one, I'm working on another story as well (not part of this fandom).

If things are confusing to you now, then just wait til later. Or, you know, ask, and I'll try to clear it up if I can… assuming it's not part of the intentional mystery and suspense haha. I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I hope to.

Fun fact: I now have a tumblr. From there, I have links to my other accounts, and I sometimes use it to post sneak peeks and updates and such. But, there's a general randomness since I'm using it as my personal blog, but yeah. It's where you can kind of keep up to date on my progress… if I remember.

The URL is _fromyouraveragegirl. tumblr. com. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Natural Born Hustler**

Chapter 2

.

Almost immediately following their phone call, Jake Kane had wired a staggering amount of money—staggering for Veronica anyway—into the new account Cliff set up for her for. With it, she and Cliff had arranged for her father to be transferred to a long-term care facility near Neptune so she could visit when she had time. Cliff halfheartedly advised her against it, but they both knew they'd find themselves coming again and again whenever they could.

There were supposed to be celebrities who were patients there, too, but she knew to keep her head down most of the time, not wanting to draw more attention to either of them when not necessary.

After paying off the balance at the previous hospital, Veronica bought a new wardrobe to fit her new identity as well. She'd look like Easter for the entire year with all the pastels she'd managed to find, but she wanted to look as ordinary as possible, which meant no more leather jackets and no more ass kicking boots.

The duffel bag was zipped tightly over her new assortment of makeup and clothes, and she tossed it into the trunk of her new used car with the rest of her luggage. Cliff had bought it for her shortly after she told him what she had agreed to as a going away present. He wasn't happy with what she was doing, but there was no other choice. Not to her.

Veronica tried not to think about her old car, their getaway car, which was probably dismantled for parts by now. Vinnie never told her what he had planned to do with it, and it wasn't high on her list of priorities when she had the chance to ask.

It was her first car, the car her father had gifted her with for her sixteenth birthday. The one she'd used to practice her chase tactics.

But, it wasn't as if she could bring it with her anyway. Cliff had been very clear that she was not to bring anything from her real life over to the one she'd assume in Neptune. And, she was already bending that rule quite a bit.

She hoisted her incriminating camera bag higher up on her shoulder, and it bounced against her satchel, her laptop weighing it down. Nervously, she gripped her suitcase and carefully arranged it between the other softer bags to cushion it. In it, she had packed her gadgets. She wasn't headed into one of _those _types of jobs, but she felt more comfortable knowing she had them with her anyway.

Walking around to the driver's side door, she mentally began to check off the items on her list.

She left the house keys with Cliff, trusting him to keep everything in order while she was away. She left the written instructions on how to take care of Backup, her puppy, with Cliff as well as Backup himself earlier this morning when she handed him the keys. She remembered how he teared up when she did, refusing to actually see her off. She suspected it was because he was a big softy and he knew he was going to cry. He had been acting as if she was going to be gone forever rather than just over a year.

.

"_You don't have to do this, Veronica."_

_She barely heard him. She was too focused on the steady beeping of the machines in the hospital they could now afford._

_He squeezed her hand to get her attention. "We'll figure something else out."_

_She laughed sharply. "You know some other billionaire we can con?"_

"_We can work it out. We don't know when your father will wake up."_

"_Exactly. We don't know. I'm making sure that Dad and I are going to be okay no matter what."_

"_You don't have to be the only person in America who pays their bills on time," he tried, joking with her. He hated the very idea of having her live somewhere else without him or her father. That the somewhere else was Neptune nearly destroyed him. _

"_You know I do. We talked about this. I want Dad to get better as soon as possible, too. That means the best care, Cliff. And, the best care needs money."_

_She sounded older than she was, and he had to ruffle her hair to reconcile the differences between what he saw and what he felt. _

_Sighing, he stepped beside her and tucked her under his chin. "You don't have to forget where you came from, V. But never forget where you've been and who was with you."_

.

She sighed at the dramatic memory. It wasn't even as if they weren't going to keep in contact. He had been _very _insistent on that point.

Rummaging through her bag to make sure she had the ID Cliff's friend made for her, her hand brushed up against Lianne's diary. A splinter of guilt found its way into her chest, and she breathed the guilt out.

She didn't like lying to Cliff because it implied she didn't trust him. And, that was the furthest from the truth since she held him in almost as high regard as her father. But, it was an ugly necessity. If she told him the truth, she knew he'd be even more adamant against her plan.

Indeed, she found Lianne's diary years ago, and Lianne did write about an affair with Jake Kane. However, it was less simple than that. From what she gleaned from the nausea inducing passages, Lianne had been using Jake for his money. She had stopped reading there and hadn't opened it since. She didn't need more reasons to hate her.

She counted her blessings that Jake hadn't called her bluff on Lianne's diary, or else she would've had to make a forgery. And, those were always so tedious, more so if she was supposed to write in Lianne's mindset. She'd die before signing her name to the front page.

Pushing aside the diary and pulling out her wallet, she held the ID aloft. She gave the rectangular piece of plastic a small flick and smiled, thinking she looked more photogenic in her fake ID than her real one.

Satisfied that everything was squared away, she backed out of her driveway and headed for Neptune.

.

She told Jake she'd be there by six, but she was an hour early on purpose. She didn't feel like being ambushed by the man before even getting her bearings straight, but staring into the cold eyes of the Stepford socialite, she heavily reconsidered her decision.

"You're that woman's spawn," she said with finality.

And, despite the vitriol of the words, Veronica was glad she had finally said something. The way the she looked at her was unnerving, and she felt like she could see right through her.

Remembering that she was no longer Veronica Mars, Veronica looked down to as if in thought and greeted her. "Hello, Mrs. Kane. My name is Veronica Gittes. I guess Mr. Kane told you then?"

"You mean, has my husband told me his bastard of a child was going to come live in _my_ house for a year? Yes. He's told me. Though, I doubt he'd have told me at all if he could get away with it. But, I suppose being his wife for two decades has earned me some courtesies."

Veronica's jaw dropped slightly as she processed the information. It felt like she'd been dropped in the middle of a soap opera, and she honestly didn't know what to say.

After a long moment, Mrs. Kane snapped, "What's wrong with you? Can't you talk?"

She bit her tongue and fidgeted with her fingers, trying to keep her hands busy so she wouldn't be tempted to slap her across her face.

With much restraint, she managed, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what you'd like me to say."

"A price."

"Excuse me?"

"Name your price."

Veronica was taken aback. "I don't understand."

"No, of course you don't. This isn't child's play, and this certainly isn't the first time I've had to do this."

"Do what, Mrs. Kane?" She asked, feigning innocence. This definitely wasn't what she expected, but she'd take it if it was enough.

"Ten thousand," she stated with an air. "Ten thousand for you to suddenly get lost and _never _come back."

She tried to hide her disappointment when she heard the amount that she was being offered. The facility her father was transferred would scoff if she tried to pay them with only ten thousand. Scoff _and_ throw her father out.

"I can't," she refused.

"Twenty thousand."

"Mrs. Kane—"

"_Fifty _thousand."

Her throat felt dry, and she was sorely tempted to take her up on the offer, but she had to think for the long term. She had no idea how long her father would be in a coma, and she didn't know very many people whom she'd be able to extort after Jake.

Keeping her eyes down, again she quietly refused, "No, Mrs. Kane. I won't accept your money."

Crossing her arms with an expression carved from stone, she looked at her challengingly. "Is that so? We'll have to see how long that holds," she said with a mirthless laugh. "This is my final offer, little girl. One hundred thousand."

Veronica's mind processed the numbers in her head quickly. It was paltry compared to what Jake was offering her, but it would pay her father's hospital bills for months. And, she wouldn't have to spend a year masquerading as someone whom she was pretty sure she already hated.

It was a tempting offer, she knew.

But, she worried about what would happen if her father's more stay was more permanent than she'd hoped. The doctors all gave her the runaround, telling her they couldn't know or wouldn't know until later, and that it was up to her father to wake up. And, when he did finally wake up, they definitely couldn't keep doing what they were doing. She couldn't take it.

Tightly shutting her eyes, Veronica swallowed back an acceptance and said instead, "I can't."

Mrs. Kane shook her head and spat, "You're as greedy as the bitch of a woman you claim to have sprung from, and you'll regret that."

Veronica wanted to laugh. The two of them agreed that her mother was a bitch. At the very least, they had some common ground. And, she was already beginning to regret her refusal. She wasn't ready for this type of independence from her father.

Nor was she prepared for the woman to reach out suddenly and yank at her hair. She rubbed the spot where she was now short more than a few strands.

"You should've just taken the money," she warned. "The results will come back in a few days—"

Veronica made a mental note to find out where she was sending it and tell Cliff later.

"—You may sit quietly in the driveway until Jake comes home. He'll deal with you then."

Without warning, she slammed the door close, and Veronica fell backwards.

She stood and brushed herself off, planning to call Cliff and rant to him about the Jake's bitch of a wife but deciding against it. If that woman was going to underestimate her, she'd use that to her advantage. She'd play the role of a good daughter until it made her sick.

She couldn't wait for the results to come back and show that she was Jake's daughter just so she'd be able to knock off her self-constructed pedestal.

.

Jake rushed back home with little notice to any one of his employees.

He was afraid that Veronica would come when he wasn't there. Thankfully, he'd thought ahead and told the housekeeper to call him when she arrived. Frankly, he expected no better treatment from Celeste than what the housekeeper had told him had happened.

He was more surprised that Celeste thought Veronica was enough of a threat to offer a hundred thousand dollars to get her to leave.

His pulse raced, and his engine revved as the speed increased.

Celeste was a calculating woman if he ever met one. Perhaps, when they met, she hadn't been so, but she was definitely one now, and she did little without reason. Something about Veronica must have given credibility to her claim, and he couldn't wait to see her for himself.

Barely waiting for the gate to clear, Jake surged forward in his car, spotting a girl with long, blonde hair. He almost choked with emotion. She looked so much like _her_ but the rest of her coloring was all off.

He stopped just in front of where she sat on the doorstep.

She was a tiny thing, he noticed.

He didn't wait to turn off his engine before pulling her into a tight embrace, making her feel even smaller than she was. His little girl. He'd make up for all those lost years as well as the lost future. He felt like a man renewed. A man with a second chance.

"Welcome back, honey."

.

Veronica froze in Jake's arms. Despite their agreement, she still needed to endear herself to this man for everything to go smoothly. She was going to hate playing this role the most.

With his arms still around her, she couldn't stop the involuntary shudders that spread out from her core and to the tips of her fingers.

The hug lasted longer than she would have liked, and Jake stared at her like his wife did. For very different reasons, Veronica didn't like the way either of them looked at her.

He put his hands on her shoulders and brushed his fingers through her hair, and she resisted the urge to run.

"Hi, Mr. Kane. I'm Vero—"

"I know. Veronica," he said fondly, patting her on her shoulders. Opening the door, he pushed her through it and urged, "Come, come in. You can leave your keys on the table beside the stairs, and someone will bring in your things for you. How were things at home? How was the drive?"

"Home was fine. The drive was a little long but fine," she answered politely, following him inside.

He looked back at her and told her seriously, "We can get you a driver."

"Uh, no. No, that's fine," she replied. "And, actually, if you don't mind. I can take my own things inside."

"But, I insist, sweetie."

Quietly, she replied, "I'm not really comfortable with other people doing things for me."

He pursed his lips, and she feared she'd displeased him until he nodded at her and smiled. "Alright, sweetie. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Veronica wanted to tell him that that particular ship had sailed and sunk but again held her tongue. She had a persona to keep up. "Thank you."

"Of course. Now, come on," he said again. "I bet you're excited to see your room?"

Mentally composing herself, she pushed her bangs behind her ear and shyly nodded.

He opened the door and stepped aside, allowing her to walk in first.

As she crossed the threshold, she felt his hand on the small of her back, and she ventured in further than she would have if he weren't there.

It was definitely something she would've expected from a house like this. Large, impersonal, and with a great view.

Her room led out into the backyard where she spotted a pool.

"Do you like it?"

Automatically, she responded, "Yes. It's perfect. Thank you."

"It will always be here for you, Veronica. For however long you choose."

"Thank you, Mr. Kane," she said again.

There was nothing else she could say.

She knew what he meant, and she didn't like it because he was hoping that she wanted to stay and she was hoping to get back to her own life as soon as possible, and they both couldn't get their way.

.

During dinner, she met the rest of the staff as well as her supposed half brother, but it was clear that he had no idea who she was within the first minute she met him.

Celeste, which she had learned from the housekeeper was the Kane matriarch's first name, had declared her a guest and concocted her own story for her. She was apparently the child of Jake and Celeste's friends, who had fallen on hard times and had asked them to take care of Veronica until she was to go to college.

Jake's silence regarding the matter meant that he either didn't care or had agreed to keep his son in the dark, either of which Veronica was content to go along with.

She already knew the two of them couldn't be friends even if they were under different circumstances. Their personalities ran parabolic. Maybe when they were twelve, they might have had something in common, but they seemed to be on very different paths as very different people.

Within the first two minutes of meeting him, she could tell Celeste was pulling his strings.

After introducing Veronica, she had proceeded with interrogating him about his day in the way only an overbearing mother could.

She would've pitied the boy if she didn't think it brought him comfort somehow to have his mother make his decisions and watch over him.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed the table had fallen silent. The question and answer style interrogations had stopped, and she looked towards each family member.

Duncan looked back at her in curiosity.

Jake smiled at her with an adoration she didn't deserve.

And, Celeste pointedly ignored her, which she was honestly fine with.

Twirling her fork in her left hand, she tilted her head questioningly at the person who was most sympathetic towards her.

Expectedly, he prompted her, "We're holding a charity dinner here in a few weeks, and we'd all like it if you would join us, Veronica."

She took another glance at Celeste and concluded that Celeste would very much not like it if she came, and thinking back to the door slammed in her face, she vindictively agreed. "I'd love to, Mr. Kane. That sounds lovely."

"Great! You know, your classmates usually come with their parents, too, so you'll have a chance to see them before school starts as well. You'll like it."

He beamed proudly at her, and the dinner continued with little conversation.

When Celeste had excused herself in a passive aggressive huff, Duncan had found the courage to ask her simple questions, which she answered according to her background story, fitting it in with the one Celeste had created.

.

Three days later, the results came back negative, and Veronica found herself and her possessions on the way out the door before a call from Jake ordered Celeste to let Veronica stay.

Following his decree, they had a shouting match over the phone. Celeste accused Jake of not trusting her and spying on her while simultaneously denying her tampering with the results.

Feeling no further need to worry about her stay, she chalked it up as her win and smiled sympathetically at her before going back to her room.

She called Cliff from the privacy of her room almost immediately, and they had their own discussion. He told her that he'd arranged things as planned but agreed that Celeste had most likely fixed the results as well.

Veronica really had to wonder, though. Jake distrusted his wife so much that he believed a stranger's words over hers, and it made her want to pity her. But, at the same time, she had to have done something to warrant the break in trust. Veronica fiercely wanted to find out.

And then she remembered, Celeste had mentioned Lianne being greedy, and she just knew.

.

Unfortunately for him, Duncan had reinforced her initial assessment of him and refused to give her one moment alone after Celeste told him to take her around to greet all the guests.

It was impressive and yet slightly depressing that he knew each person there by name, title, and net worth because she knew Celeste definitely had a hand in that. There were few seventeen year old boys who were already thinking about establishing and maintaining business connections as opposed to, say, establishing physical relations.

Finally, she had the opportunity to leave him when some people she assumed were his friends had pulled him away from her. They all regarded her suspiciously, and she did the same, staring at them analytically like they did her.

Veronica quickened her strides when she heard him call for her. Worse, she heard Jake call her name as well. Fleeing with new purpose, she climbed the stairs up to the second floor guest bathroom.

Locking the door quickly behind her, she leaned against the sink to support herself. She was exhausted, and her legs trembled in her pink heels.

Before the dinner, she had to stand at the door and greet the guests with Celeste while also listening to Celeste subtly insult her as she explained who Veronica was. Still, they stared at her even after they had gotten their explanation. She couldn't quite read them either. She thought that maybe they thought they knew her, but that was impossible… unless they were one of the people she had stolen from. But, that was highly unlikely as well. They shouldn't have been able to see her face, much less recognize her.

After that, the dinner had dragged on with all the presentations and accolades.

Vexingly, the event was supposed to just be a charity _dinner_, and that was over. But, now, everyone was mingling and not going home. Veronica couldn't understand why people didn't just leave.

Lightly, she pressed cool water to her cheeks, careful not to disturb her makeup. Staring at herself in the mirror as she dried her face off, she grimaced. She looked like the kind of pretentious girl she had always made fun of when she saw them on TV. She dreaded having to dress like this for another year.

Narrowing her eyes at the bright pink headband keeping her hair back, she thought that if it wasn't exactly the kind of accessory the girl she was pretending to be would wear, she'd have ripped it off long ago. Even the bow on top of the headband looked like it didn't want to be there, limply hanging against its base.

Washing her hands to stall for just a little more time, she left the sanctuary, unsure if Duncan was having a panic attack because he couldn't carry out his mother's command exactly as she ordered it. She didn't want that on her conscience if he was.

Walking around, she tried to find her way back downstairs. She hadn't had the chance to explore the second floor very much, especially since she tried her best to stay in her room, and she concluded that she was lost.

She thought for sure that she had taken a left turn at what she hoped was a replica of a painting of Monet's water lilies—in her heart, she knew it was real—, but that just led her into another halfway.

Trying each door, she found that they were either empty or locked.

When she heard muffled talking further down the hallway, her body sagged with relief even with the embarrassment she knew she was going to have to endure. She just wanted to go back to her room at this point, panic attack or no.

Treading closer and closer to the sounds, Veronica furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. She was at the open door when she finally recognized the sounds for what they really were.

Involuntarily, her eyes flicked into the room, catching the profile of the couple inside and confirming her suspicions in the process.

She knew she should have left even before she saw them, but she her body wouldn't let her.

There was something about their movements that drew her in. Frantic yet fluid. They were obviously enjoying themselves.

She bit her lip as her eyes focused the back of the boy moving on top of the lucky girl. The little light that the open door let in shone on his sinewy muscles that flexed with each confident thrust. From his back, she moved up to his shoulders before moving down to his arms, appreciating them as well as the entire package.

The boy shifted position, and she noticed he had suddenly stopped moving.

Curiously, she lifted her eyes up to focus on the entire scene, wondering if something was wrong. When she met his gaze, she gasped. She'd been caught. And yet, he didn't appear angry. If anything, he was curious, too.

Again, against her better judgment, she stayed standing by the door.

She saw him earlier. Downstairs when she was greeting all the guests with Celeste. He was the son of that actor, she recalled vaguely.

Suddenly, the curiosity left his eyes while she tried to figure out whose son he was, and his lips twisted into a smirk. Unabashedly, he made sure she was watching as he hooked a slim leg over his shoulder and thrust deeply into the girl beneath him but staring at her.

The girl's cries broke her trance, and Veronica blinked away the fascination. She had to leave.

Somehow, she had returned to the bathroom again. This time, she wet her entire face, not caring that her makeup was ruined. She rubbed it off completely, leaving her skin pink and slightly raw.

She stayed there until she felt her head clear and pulse calm.

Taking every turn she hadn't before, she found the stairs and slipped into polite conversations about nothing with the guests who refused to leave. She didn't trust herself to be alone and was actually grateful when Duncan found her. She clung to his side all night.

.

Sometime after midnight, they had closed the door behind the last guest, and Veronica felt safe again.

Pulling the headband off, she shook out her hair, letting it fall like a curtain down her back.

She was twirling the headband in her hands when she was pulled into what was sure was a hallway closet.

The hand left her wrist and she was pushed against the door. She felt the rough hands grip the back of her head and tilt her head upward into a dominating kiss, mouths open and teeth knocking against teeth, leaving her gasping for air and effectively silencing her objections.

The rustling of their clothes and their frenzied exchange were deafening to her ears.

When the aggressive hands traveled further down and found her dress' hem, she took her attacker's bottom lip in between her teeth and bit down to draw blood. Running her tongue along the where she bit him, she smiled in the dark, satisfied that she tasted bitterness.

Pushing him away from her, she fumbled for the light switch.

They were both blinded when the light floods the small room.

Immediately, she recognized him as the boy from earlier. Though, he was wearing more clothes now. Less than he had at the beginning of the evening but decidedly more than when she'd met him earlier.

More so, he was also wearing a cocksure grin now even with his swollen lower lip. He seemed even prouder because of the fact.

His eyes were filled with challenge and hatred, and she was sure hers were, too.

She jerked back when he moved forward, and he laughed at her skittishness. Her blood ran heated through her body in indignation, refusing to let her calm down. Her heart was still racing.

Taking a step toward her, he put his lips against her ear..

"Guess you're not exactly like her."

And then he left, and she was alone.

.

A/N: So, I've been sick, and I haven't really had time to dedicate myself to long chapters. Still, once again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and thanks to everyone for supporting the last chapter (I hope I didn't blow it with this update). There are so many other fantastic vm fics out there, and it makes me happy to know you chose to read this one (and my others). Really. Like, some of those other fics just leave me speechless. Like whoa. And, it especially makes me feel happy to know you're willing to spend your time reading my fics because I put a lot of myself (and time. it's 4am right now for those who are keeping track of my terrible sleep schedule) into these stories as well. Blah blah blah. That's enough of that.

About the characterizations, I hope aren't too offputting for you all. I just didn't think it was right to keep their personalities exactly the same while putting them in this different reality. It just wouldn't make sense since they didn't have the same formative experiences. That being said, I still tried to balance the new with the old, and they should at least be recognizable.

Is the story becoming clearer to you? Let me know. ^^ I love to hear what people think. It's always so interesting to read interpretations of what I write because sometimes I want to just come out and say _this is what I mean _so no one misses anything, but I know I can't. D:

Also, If you'd like an idea of the dress Veronica is wearing, please go to my tumblr (fromyouraveragegirl) for the link. Otherwise, google Blair Waldorf's pink floral dress? I believe it's from the episode with Lily and Bart's wedding, "Much Ado About Nothing"? It's been a while you guys haha.

Fun fact: Cruelest of twists, I learned how to give shots whilst sick. Well played, universe. Well played. Thankfully, my nose stopped running for _just _long enough for me to pass the practical test. The seven hours of instruction before it, however… torture.


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